Anchor RG-8X Coax prices

[barfwinkle]

Just venting a bit.

WM price $1.99 per foot!

Defender price $0.89 per foot.

Other than absolutely needing something that NO ONE ELSE can get for you OR you MUST have it NOW, WHY SHOP WEST MARINE? And for the record they are my only local option and local is two hour one way drive.

Whew, I feel mo betta.....

Fair Winds

[bottomscraper]

Yup! WM my supplier of absolute last resort.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Bill:

I feel your pain. I am "fortunate" to have two (2) WM stores each within 15-30 minutes drive time.

It is my experience that WM has changed at least two (2) policies concerning the purchase of, and pricing of, products. Both changes are bad for consumers.

First, it used to be that if Defender or another legitimate online marine supplier offered a product at a lesser price you could print out the website page with the lower price, bring it in to your local WM and WM would match the online price. No more. Now, WM will only match prices of local, "brick and mortar" marine suppliers.

Second, if you want an item that WM does not have on their shelf you can order the product from the WM store but now you must pay for it in advance. I dislike this policy a lot. As I explained to the WM manager I am not knowledgeable about most products I buy for my sailboat. I am old and old fashioned. I want to touch and feel the product before I buy it - if at all possible. I cannot do that with online purchases (such as Defender). I could always do it with WM. WM would obtain the product from their warehouse and then call me when it arrived. I could look at it, touch it, feel it. That was one of the reasons I was willing to tolerate somewhat higher prices on WM items. I could touch it and feel it at WM and I was helping a "local" business. If I can't touch it before I buy it I might as well order online from Defender - cheaper price, no tax.

The WM manager was polite and courteous and just shrugged his shoulders.

It's a very, very different world from the small town where I grew up.

[Bob Ohler]

There are two sides to every story...

I swore I would not weigh in on this however, I thought I should point out a few things here.

Let me get this straight... we have sailboats (some of us more than one boat) for a hobby and we are complaining about the price of wire? That's like hot rod owners complaining about the price of high-test gas.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me state here that I work part time for West Marine. My First Mate does as well. I am not compensated on a commission basis. I do not own stock in WM. It is a fun job and I get to help boaters solve their problems. It is like working is an ice cream store. Almost everyone leaves a little happier. I get one or two a year that cannot be satisfied. Oh well. The ice cream store gets complaints too when the cone breaks prematurely.

I would like to address a few points here.

Why should a company that has roughly 300 stores, publishes a full-color catalog (that reads like an encyclopedia), maintains a great website, keeps a lot of stuff in stock, match another company that basically has a single-location warehouse or in some cases, simply a garage? The overhead costs are not the same. Not only that, did you calculate the shipping and handling fees from the competitors when you were comparing prices?

Did you know that WM offers free shipping to your door? Need 32 feet of coax wire shipped to your house with free shipping? WM does that kind of stuff. Ever ordered hazardous items from the other guys? What was the shipping fee? You know, in many cases, WM will ship these to you with no-charge shipping. I see it every day. You can order online, over the phone, or just simply go and pick it up at the store of your choice. What is easier than that? Got an expired coupon? WM will often honor it anyway. Not every time. But I see managers go out of their way all the time to satisfy a customer.

Need it tomorrow from either of the WM warehouses or transferred from another WM store? Many times WM can do that and often it comes at no-additional charge. I can't make this stuff up.

Have you ever tried to return something to one of the competitors? Ever tried to return a pair of shoes that didn't fit right, or didn't perform? Ask one on the members here on this board about his experience when he wanted to return a pair of shoes. The return policy takes up a column of print in their catalogs for heaven's sake. Don't even think of opening a package and then wanting a full refund. They don't allow it. On the other hand, WM offers a No Hassle Satisfaction Guaranty.

Even if you pay for it when it is ordered, you can always return it. You pay the competition when you order it from them, right? At WM, you can still touch it and feel it and if you don't like it, you can return it, on the spot. Or take it any store in the country and return it. Or call 1-800-BOATING and they will try to accommodate you.

Oh by the way, in my opinion, the 4% rebate program and the BOAT/US partnership with all the towing options is one of the best values in boating!

Does WM beat the competition on price alone? No way? Are they perfect? No way. Do they keep every item in stock at every store? Not a chance. Do I wish I could change some things? You betcha!

I am sure I’ll catch some flack about this, but I thought there were some aspects of the equation that needed to be considered.

Sorry about the length of this post.

I hope you all will celebrate with me and my family our freedom on the Fourth of July!

Fair winds.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Bob:

I have almost always agreed with your posts on various subjects. After reading and re-reading your above post I find myself agreeing with many of your comments.

Since you do work at WM part-time, I will ask a couple of questions with the understanding that you may not be in a position to answer them.

First, why did WM change its policy to make a customer pay for something in advance when it is not literally on the shelf at one of WM’s brick and mortar stores I can understand the policy if it was limited to "specialty items" but this policy applies (or at least the store operators are applying it) to ALL products. I first learned of it last year when I bought a Rule pump that was not physically on their shelf. I filled out the "order form" paperwork and left the store thinking they would call as they had done in the past. After several days I called and was told they had not picked it up from their local warehouse because I had not paid for it in advance. When I went to the store, I was told about the new policy.

It does not make sense to do this. It’s not like I ordered something that they do not have in stock. It was a basic Rule pump. Why make me pay in advance Yes, you are correct that if it arrives, I look at it and decide for whatever reason that it is not suitable for what I need I will be issued a credit/refund. But why put customers through that hassle

Second, I agree that WM has a good website, a good catalog and does have a lot of stuff on the shelf. But so does Defender. They have a good website and a good catalog as well. My dealings with them have always been pleasant, as have my dealings with WM employees. WM has 300+ stores. It would seem to me (I am NOT a business executive but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last year ) that with that kind of sales volume, WM buys bulk quantity product from mfg. at very favorable prices. Assuming this is true, why are their prices consistently significantly higher than Defender Given their warehouse size, I assume Defender buys in bulk volume as well. Their prices are always cheaper - and generally significantly cheaper. Defender does charge for shipping and WM does not. However, Defender does not charge sales tax and all WM stores charge sales tax - as they are required to do by law. But it seems to me the shipping/tax considerations pretty much zero out and the choice of where to purchase comes down to price.

Perhaps because I grew up in a small town/city, I have always preferred to buy locally and support the local economy. I try to buy at WM when I can do so reasonably. However, if a product I want costs $150 at WM and costs $80 at Defender, I am going to buy at Defender and save $70. If it were $95/$85, I would probably buy at WM, absorb the $10 additional cost and feel good about supporting a local business that employs local citizens.

All that said, why would WM refuse to meet an online price from a reputable online marine supplier It just does not make sense to me.

I wish everyone a Safe and Happy 4th of July. Take a moment and give thanks to everyone who devote themselves to protecting our flag and our country so that we can all celebrate the 4th of July every year.

[sharkbait]

I never buy from Waste Marine unless I absolutely have to.

[M. R. Bober]

Offered without comment:

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/groco--re ... er--257308

OR
(as an example)
http://www.efaucets.com/detail.asp?Prod ... 7AodvhQAsA
OR
http://www.amazon.com/Bemis-TC50TTA000- ... B001ASF44I

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Best seat other than the County Seat.) VA

[Terry]

Just venting a bit.

Defender price $0.89 per foot.

The prices are quite varied, and ridiculous. A better way to buy is from a coax supplier. You can go to DXEngineering.com, for instance, and order RG-8x for $0.38 a foot. DXEngineering also has assembled cables. What I don't like about 8x, though it is a small diameter, it is high loss at VHF, which includes Marine Band. A better choice is RG-8U or even a mil spec, lower-loss, double-shielded RG-213 or equiv.

I don't hear much about blowouts on top the mast, but when running coax to an antenna on a tower, we always terminated the coax with a connector, then connected a short length of coax in a loop to the antenna. The idea is if lighting strikes the antenna, it blows out the jumper at the loop rather than running down the coax to the radio. It's easier to replace a jumper than the whole length of coax.

All the Best. Terry